Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Doctor Who - Season 6, part one.

"I'm being extremely clever up here, and there's noone to stand around looking impressed! What's the point in having you all?"

Woah... from the first episode, it's clear they're not messing around this season. And as I was doing my first review, I realized they were doing the split-season thing and were already finishing up the spring run, so I'm doing a combined review.

Oh, River insists that I warn you that there are spoilers below the cut...

"The Impossible Astronaut"
"Day of the Moon"

I really thought the astronaut was going to turn out to be River... given that we first saw her in a similar astronaut outfit, her claim of being in prison for killing "a good man" and so on. But unless River is a Time Lord it seems like this was a red herring. Or is it? Maybe it's not the little girl in the space suit on the beach? I'm browsing some forums now, and there are a lot of fun theories floating around.

And of course, we've now seen the "future" doctor die, and his companions know and can't tell him. Heavy, heavy way to start the season.

"Your ship is much bigger than mine and I don't have the cool boots or a hat even."

"The Curse of the Black Spot"

In case there's any doubt that this is an intentionally timed tribute to a certain pirate franchise, look again at the title of this episode. Not much to say about this episode.... the characters are great, and the plot is average, which... after coming off the huge opener, felt like a bit of a letdown.

I think the biggest problem was that they were on a ship, but we still had the enclosed feel of a soundstage. Maybe the blew their budget going to the US in the first episode, but this ep really needed a wide shot of the the crew on a ship out in the ocean.

They should have switched this with one off with the next two episodes... the Rebel Flesh episode wasn't significantly better, but I don't feel like the weaknesses of this one would have bothered me if it hadn't come right after the preceding story.

"I wanted to see the Universe so I stole a Time Lord and I ran away. And you were the only one mad enough."

"The Doctor's Wife"

As I go into these relatively blind save for the title and an occasional screenshot, I was a little apprehensive going into this one. Fortunately, it's the most misleading title ever, because the "wife" in question being the TARDIS, whose soul is thrust into a flesh-and-bone body.

There's also a subplot involving the TARDIS-box itself being stolen by an alien entity with Amy and Rory trapped inside, but this episode isn't about them... it's "meeting" the other star of the show who's been with us since the beginning. And when "Sexy" as she's asked to be called, returns to her true body, it's over all too soon.

"If you have a better plan, I'm all ears. In fact, if you have a better plan I'll take you to a planet where everyone is all ears."

"The Rebel Flesh""The Almost People"

Muse's is playing on the TARDIS at the beginning of this episode. First time I've ever noticed anything like that. And then when they got off the TARDIS, they can hear chanting coming from a castle that they say sounds like Dusty Springfield. Pop music... unexpected.

It was in the second part that I realized there was a downside to the strong season opener, and that's that I'm wondering if the next episode is going to be a full-blown chapter in the story that started in that first episode. I think the expectation is messing with my perception.

Back to the story... It starts out a little slow, and clones rebelling against their originals felt a little familiar, but a doppleganger doctor in the second chapter takes the fun up to another level. And then it ends on a cliffhanger where we find Amy apparently hasn't been Amy for awhile, but rather her consciousness in one of those doppleganger bodies... which is a bit of irony since she had a strong distrust for the dopplegangers. And a two-parter turns into a three parter, because I now have to watch the next episode right away!

"This is the day he finds out who I am."

"A Good Man Goes to War"
And the title sets up an instant expectation, since River had previously said she had killed "a good man". "Who" River Song is is finally answered, and it's one of those things where you kind of kick yourself for not making the connection earlier.

Rory's emerged into a far better character than I ever thought possible. Him fearlessly confronting the Cybermen had me cheering for him. I felt like this was one of Amy's best performances as well.. she had to sell some strong emotion, and I didn't doubt it for a second.

Can't believe we have a long cliffhanger now, though... too many shows with cliffhangers these days! I read that Dr Who isn't doing a standard full season next year, so hopefully Dr Who will close out 2011 without leaving us hanging when it returns this fall!